Game blog: Spurs 108, Suns 99 (Final)

That’s about the only way to describe Tony Parker’s performance Saturday against Phoenix — particularly in the fourth quarter, when he almost single-handedly put the Suns away with a stretch of 14 straight points that he either scored or assisted on.

Parker’s run powered the Spurs from a two-point deficit into a 10-point lead, and they were on their way to their 16th straight home victory and eighth straight overall despite missing Tim Duncan (sore left knee) and head coach Gregg Popovich (illness) for the third straight game. He finished with 31 points and seven assists.

The Spurs had struggled up to that point against the hot-shooting Suns, who were carried by blistering performances from Michael Beasley (25 points, 11 for 16 shooting) and Jared Dudley (23 points, 10 for 12). But it wasn’t enough to hold off Parker and the Spurs down the stretch.

Third quarter: Suns 82, Spurs 81

The Suns took a five-point lead before the Spurs pulled within one on four free throws by Manu Ginobili. The first set resulted from a flagrant foul by Shannon Brown, for which he was ejected after smacking Ginobili in the side of the head while trying to block his layup attempt. Ginobili could have blown the roof off the AT&T Center after stealing a late-second pass, but his open 3 was short.

Halftime: Spurs 59, Suns 56

The second half of a back-to-back is proving to be a bit more difficult than anticipated, even without Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich. The Suns are shooting 56.4 percent to push the Spurs, who haven’t been able to clamp down consistently without their defensive anchor.

Tony Parker leads all scorers with 14, while Stephen Jackson has 10 off the bench. Jared Dudley and Michael Beasley have 12 apiece to lead the Suns. The latter hit a turnaround on the baseline to give the Suns a 49-48 lead before the Suns scored 10 of the final 17 points to edge back in front.

First quarter: Spurs 26, Suns 26

The Spurs fought back from an early 6-0 deficit to tie the game on Matt Bonner’s late 3-pointer. Tony Parker picked up where he left off from last night’s victory over Dallas, scoring 10 points. The Spurs finished at 57.9 percent for the quarter, while the Suns have 10 assists on 11 baskets.

Pregame: Tim Duncan (sore left knee) and Gregg Popovich (illness) will miss their third straight game, the Spurs announced roughly two hours before tipping off tonight against Pheonix at the AT&T Center.

The Spurs are 2-0 in their absence, with victories over New Orleans and Dallas.

Duncan continues to be listed as day-to-day. The veteran post was recently named to his 14th All-Star team after averaging 17.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 42 of the Spurs’ first 46 games.

The Spurs have said Popovich does not want to risk passing his illness on to the player. Top assistant Mike Budenholzer will again take the reigns in his absence.